IU Bloomington's planned Global and International Studies Building will be on 10th Street, near the Herman B Wells Library and the Arboretum.

The ceremony will begin at 3 p.m. at the IU Auditorium, 1211 E. Seventh St. Speakers will include IU President Michael A. McRobbie, IU Bloomington Provost Lauren Robel and Executive Dean Larry D. Singell of the College of Arts and Sciences.

The School of Global and International Studies, part of the College of Arts and Sciences, will comprise more than 350 core and affiliated faculty members from across the university. IU's 11 federally funded Title VI area studies centers, which represent the largest number of such centers anywhere in the U.S., also will be associated with the school.

Students, faculty, alumni and the public are welcome to attend the ceremony. A reception will immediately follow.

A graduate of the IU Robert H. McKinney School of Law -- where he was associate editor of the Indiana Law Review -- and Wheaton College, Coats is a veteran of the U.S. Army.

After completing his law degree, he went on to work for a life insurance company in Fort Wayne before joining the office of then-Congressman Dan Quayle as a district representative. In 1980, he ran and won a seat in the House of Representatives for Indiana's 4th District. When Quayle resigned from the Senate after being elected vice president of the United States in 1988, Coats was appointed to Quayle's former seat.

An artist's rendering of the new Global and International Studies Building

In 1999, Coats stepped down in keeping with a term-limits pledge he made to Hoosiers. After leaving the Senate, he worked in the private sector with the law firm of Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson and Hand. In 2001, Coats was named ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany.

As ambassador until 2005, Coats played a critical role in establishing robust relations with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and in the construction of a new U.S. embassy in Berlin. Afterward, he worked at the law firm of King & Spalding.

Coats and his wife, Marsha, formed The Foundation for American Renewal to continue their engagement in faith-based initiatives. Coats received national recognition as the author and champion of the Project for American Renewal, a comprehensive initiative created to help resolve many of our nation's social problems.

In 2010, Coats began his second tenure representing Indiana in Congress in 2010 and serves on four Senate committees: Appropriations; Select Intelligence; Commerce, Science and Transportation; and the Joint Economic Committee. He also serves on one of the Senate's four original standing committees, the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, where he oversees policies relating to transportation, communications, consumer affairs, science and technology.